Women on path to provide care
ANTHEA Chong and I recently travelled to a Global Citizen event in Brisbane, representing the Moon Sick Care Bag project.
It was a proud moment for two Doomadgee women.
Project lead Yolonde Entsch joined us to showcase the community’s work in making personal care products for Papuan Community Rangers.
Ms Entsch, who has partnered with My Pathway to support women’s activities in Doomadgee, was invited to be a part of the Global Citizen panel discussing empowering women and girls.
Ms Chong and I were able to speak with other participants about the project.
When I first heard about women in Papua New Guinea I was upset they weren’t getting the care and support they needed.
It broke my heart to hear that women and girls in other parts of the world were denied proper personal care products and support
Making the Moon Sick Care Bags includes handmade drawstring bags, sanitary pads, face washers and bush medicine soaps.
These products are, not only benefiting the PNG ladies, but it has brought the Doomadgee women and girls together. The project has made us closer and made us communicate.
Now the community is tight-knit, we are finding new friends and learning new skills together. I came into the project sewing by hand, and now I know how to use a sewing machine.
I have learnt how to order things online and have even done some media interviews.
These are opportunities that are only available to me because of the MSCB initiative.
Next for the Doomadgee ladies will be the chance to meet two of the female rangers, who will be receiving the MSCBs, when they come to Burketown for a conference in September.
Ms Chong and I will then travel to PNG in October to meet other rangers and the women and girls they will be helping.
The MSCB activity in Doomadgee is being run as part of the Community Development Program, which is an initiative of, and fully funded by the Australian Government.
My Pathway is the local CDP provider.
Global Citizen is an international organisation with over eight million members.
The Brisbane event launched their #SheIsEqual campaign, which hopes to help raise awareness that society treats women and girls differently, which can hold them back in many aspects of life – in school, by governments, by health systems, and in the workplace.
The MSCB initiative has really put Doomadgee on the map and is a major talking point in the community.
Many of the ladies had never imagined they’d be at the heart of connecting their community, linking to other women in PNG or networking at global events in Brisbane. Veronica Walden is a My Pathway supervisor.